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The Caretaker
“You must be very brave or very foolish to have entered here. I am the Caretaker. This is my domain.” "Enjoy your stay. You'll be here a long while." "How far can I push you I wonder?" The Caretaker is the mysterious Deep Elf master of a strange monster-infested pocket dimension known as The Delve. Whether the Delve exists within the Ynfernael or the Aenlong, or somewhere in between holes in reality is unknown. It is also unknown what the precise nature of The Caretaker is; is she a powerful sorcerer who created the Delve to toy with those less powerful than she, or is she perhaps some kind of demon or fae simply taking the form of an Elf? Yet the greatest and most disturbing mystery is what motivates her to trap unsuspecting mortals in her domain, just to watch them suffer in a maddening realm of chaotic peril. It appears to be some kind of game to her, as she watches adventurers attempt to survive her challenges in pursuit of the prize of freedom from The Delve. Very few make it far enough to discover if this promised reward is genuine. "This grows tiresome. A part of me hoped for more. Still... you aren't uninteresting. Just unextraordinary." The Dreadful Menagerie A group of adventurers awoke, cold and sore from the hard stone they'd been sleeping on. They squinted into the shining silver light, a portal at the edge of the platform on which they rested. There were no walls; instead, at the edges of the platform, darkness took over. Then came a voice, echoing throughout the truly enormous chamber. "More of you is it? Your kind tamper with what they don't understand so readily." The voice chuckled, and the sound sent a slight chill down the party's spines. "No matter. I am The Caretaker, and this is my domain. Everything that has ever found its way here has become a permanent fixture of this, my... menagerie." She paused. "I confess I don't relish the thought of setting you free, but your kind makes no end of noise if they feel they've been wrongfully imprisoned, so I will give you this chance. Pass through my portal, prove yourself... entertaining, and I shall consider opening the way home for you." The heroes were forced to run a gauntlet of dreadful creatures, with Giants and other monsters materializing before them through magic portals. Eventually, the party faced off against The Caretaker herself, surrounded by her prized pets from all across Mennara. As the heroes battled the monsters, The Caretaker sapped their strength with draining spells. It seemed the fighting would never stop. They knew not how many days had passed, as they forced their own aching muscles to continue struggling for survival. But then... the creatures stopped coming. The Caretaker let out an echoing sigh. "I rather want to keep you here indefinitely. I never promised to release you, after all. But... keeping you on a leash sounds exhausting. You've earned your freedom." A portal opened, leading them out of that place. References # Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition): The Delve # Heroes of Terrinoth Category:Character Category:Mage Category:Elf